India blocks access to popular developer platform Supabase with ban order

Supabase, the popular developer database platform, is facing disruption in India – one of its key markets – being blocked in India, TechCrunch has learned. New Delhi has ordered internet providers to block its website, resulting in spotty access across networks.

The blocking order was issued on February 24 under Section 69A of India’s Information Technology Act, according to a source familiar with the matter. The provision gives the government the power to restrict public access to online content.

The Indian government did not publicly state the reason for the move, and it was not immediately clear whether the move was related to cybersecurity concerns, a copyright complaint, or another issue. It was also unclear how long the restrictions would last.

Access to Supabase has been conflicting in India for the past few days, the San Francisco company acknowledged the issue in a social media post from Wednesday. While the restrictions were first reported by Supabase on Reliance Industries’ JioFiber network, users have since flagged similar issues across multiple internet providers and phone networks. In another post on Friday, Supabase tagged India’s IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, asking her to intervene and restore access, although the company later removed the message and said in a subsequent update that the site remains blocked by many users in the country.

The Indian founder, who asked not to be named to avoid potential repercussions, told TechCrunch that they stopped seeing new user registrations from India two to three days ago. A technology consultant working with local startups, who did not want to be named, said they could not reliably access Supabase for development and production purposes.

While Supabase suggests workarounds such as changing DNS settings or using a VPN (which redirects Internet traffic to bypass geographic restrictions), the founder said these steps don’t work for most end users.

At press time, TechCrunch was able to confirm that supabase.co remained inaccessible on ACT Fibernet, JioFiber and Airtel connections in New Delhi. However, two users on ACT Fibernet in Bengaluru said they were still able to access the service, suggesting the restrictions could be applied equally.

Notably, Supabase’s main website remained accessible in India – but its developer infrastructure could not.

India is the fourth largest source of Supabase traffic, accounting for about 9% of global traffic, according to data from Similaweb, highlighting the potential decline of the country’s developer ecosystem. The platform’s global traffic jumped more than 111% year-over-year to nearly 4.2 million visits in January. In India, visits increased by about 179% to about 365,000, compared to a 168.5% increase in the US to about 627,000.

The incident reflects broader concerns about India’s web-blocking regime, said Raman Jit Singh Chima, director of Asia Pacific policy at Access Now.

“This is a simple fact that has serious consequences for developers and others,” he told TechCrunch. “You don’t know where you can run projects safely without the risk of something happening where it’s blocked, and then you just scramble to find a way.”

India has faced criticism for its extensive website blocking measures. In 2014, authorities briefly restricted access to developer platform GitHub, as well as services such as Vimeo, Pastebin and Weebly, during a security investigation. Users on some Indian networks in 2023 also reported that GitHub’s key content site was blocked by some ISPs, according to previous reports.

Founded in 2020 by CEO Paul Copplestone and CTO Ant Wilson, Supabase positions itself as an open source alternative to Firebase built on PostgreSQL. The startup has gained momentum amid growing interest in tools called “vibe coding” and AI-driven app development, and has raised nearly $380 million in three rounds of funding since September 2024, raising its valuation to $5 billion.

India’s Ministry of Electricity and IT, as well as telecom providers including ACT Fibernet, Bharti Airtel, and Reliance Jio, did not respond to requests for comment. Copplestone and Wilson also did not respond.